Shogun of Fire
by LastArcanni
Summary: The Shogun stands alone in is fortress. Those he thougt lost return. How will they fare in a New World? Can they forgive each other?
1. Chapter 1

Written by: Last Arcanni

Proofread by: PervySageChuck (Fishing expert and Master Baiter)

Chapter 1

In Jotunheim there was a guild which was famous for its power in PVP. They had become so feared that there were stories of guilds that conceded defeat before the fight. Alas, no one had heard of the guild for the last three years.

The truth is the guild had shattered and almost all of their members had left. Now the guildmaster stood alone in his castle waiting for the day his comrades would return.

Shogun's Realm was the name of the guild and its master was the Shogun Osamu Takeo (warrior ruler) a warrior without equal. Clad in bright red samurai armor with a masked helmet that covered his face and gave him an even more oppressive aura. He had four weapons, a katana, a wakizashi, a naginata and a bow. All of his items were top class but his main strength lay in the naginata and was followed closely by the blades. The bow served as a support weapon to use while the enemy closed on him, didn't deal much damage but it was helpful. He was an oni demon and as such was around 2 and a half meters tall with red skin and two small horns in his forehead which blended with his helmet, he had big canines but otherwise he was quite human looking with his black curly hair.

The guild owned a castle in Jotunheim, Tetsu no Shiro, (Iron Castle) it was a typical Japanese castle and that was the guild's theme, all things Sengoku Jidai. From the spawns to the NPCs. The castle had even been inspired by a real castle, the Himeji castle, except it was even bigger and had what you'd call a small merchant town inside the walls. It had a huge garrison and a relatively big "civilian" population.

For NPCs, they had all the Sengoku Jidai legends, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and Hattori Hanzō to name a few.

The truth was that the guild had been shattered from within.

The first members of the guild had been Takeo, his brother, Katsuo Hideo, and a friend of theirs, his brother's girlfriend, Atsuko Aimi.

Things had started very well and over time they had grown and become powerful, but one day Takeo confessed to a friend in the guild that he liked Aimi. Next thing he knew, his brother had punched him and the guild was breaking apart. He never saw them again. Not even in real life. Part of his family even started ignoring him in favor of Hideo.

Takeo felt responsible for what had happened and over the years hadn't done much.

But now, as the game came to an end, he had sent out messages to everyone saying he wanted to meet one final time.

Nobody had shown up.

There were about 20 minutes before the end of the game and nobody had shown up.

Takeo took a glance around the throne room. It had wooden beams serving as supports on the sides and between each beam there was a retainer seated. The shogun was seated at the end of the room in the traditional Japanese manner. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and Hattori Hanzō, alongside the shogun's guard, the seven horo-shu were seated before him.

 _Player Atsuko Aimi is online._

"What?" Takeo was surprised. Aimi was one of the last people he had expected to show up.

Aimi appeared before him. She was an angel with half her points into the healer class and the rest into the archer's class. Her avatar was that of a beautiful red-haired woman with huge wings. She was covered in white and grey samurai armor and had a huge bow on her back.

"Aimi-san?" Takeo asked shocked.

"Hello Takeo." Aimi answered him a bit coldly and a bit sadly. "Hideo wanted to see you one last time."

"Hideo is coming too?"

 _Player Katsuo Hideo is online._

Hideo appeared before them garbed in his ninja outfit. He was a True Vampire but had used items to change his appearance to look like a charming man.

The truth was that Takeo was afraid of his brother. Like his avatar he was a monster with the cover of a charming man, but it took the guild's end for Takeo to notice it. He was also pretty sure that Aimi was a bit afraid of his brother.

"Hello, brother." Hideo said.

"Hideo-san. Good to see you." Takeo welcomed him.

"So the castle still stands, eh? Did not expect that." Hideo said looking around.

"Thank you for coming." Takeo said bowing.

"I didn't come for you." Hideo said with hate. "I came to take one last look at the game. Same with Aimi. You are nothing to us."

Takeo stole a glance at Aimi but she seemed very interested in the NPCs in the hall and avoided looking at Takeo.

"I remember when we created them. It took a lot of effort to get their stories right, remember?" Takeo asked Aimi nostalgically.

Aimi nodded. In the future a lot of knowledge had been lost and the Sengoku Jidai was more of a legend now, they had gone to great efforts to get their stories right and do the required adaptations for them to be the loyal retainers of the shogun.

Takeo looked at them, the Daimyos, level 100 and the strongest beings in the castle, and the horo-shu level 90 NPCs who served as last line of defense.

"Will you stay until the game ends?" Takeo asked.

"Yes." Hideo told him. "Get lost."

"Can't do that, dear brother, a shogun must face the end in his position of power." Takeo answered mockingly.

"Then do not bother us. I should have been the shogun."

"You lost, remember?" Takeo reminded him.

Hideo clicked his tongue. When they were deciding on the position of guildmaster there had been several spars between members and Hideo had lost to Takeo in the final battle.

"Only because my level was lower." Hideo rebuked him.

Hideo was constantly getting killed and so his level was always around the nineties. Even now he was ninety three compared to Takeo's and Aimi's 100.

"Sure. If you say so." Takeo thought. The fact was that Hideo wasn't very strong and against a warrior like Takeo his chances were pretty bad.

23:59:45

"Was there any other way for this to have ended?" Takeo asked looking at the ceiling.

"No." Hideo answered him. "There wasn't."

23:59:59

00:00:00

"Wait, what?" Three voices exclaimed in surprise.

Before they could act an NPC burst into the room, it was a Spawn NPC, Yari Ashigaru.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but we are under attack. The castle outer walls are being attacked by undead." He shouted bowing before the shogun.

The other NPCs in the room sprang into action with the guard forming before Takeo and the Daimyos discussing what to do.

"Shingen, take the cavalry and flank the enemy. Take out any mages and long range fighters. Kenshin, get two units of monks and join the fight on the walls. Hideyoshi, make sure we aren't being attacked on other walls. Ieyasu, gather as many units as you can and put them on standby. Hanzō, get your shadows ready." Nobunaga ordered.

"How strong are the undead?" Kenshin asked the Ashigaru.

"They seem to be low level skeletons and zombies but there might be more." The Ashigaru stated, obviously afraid of being in front of his lords.

"My Lord." Nobunaga shouted bowing before Takeo. "I ask for your blessing and await your commands."

Takeo was in shock and had been staring at the NPCs talking but snapped back to answer Nobunaga.

"Go. Cleanse these vermin who dare attack our castle." He ordered trying to sound convincing. Then he had an idea. "Nobunaga; I will leave overall command to you. Horo-shu, follow me."

As Takeo got up he thought about how he would equip his naginata and stretched his hand into the air. A hole appeared and he pulled his pole-arm from it. Now he felt better.

The daimyos tried to convince him of the dangers but he told them he had absolute confidence in them.

Flanked by his guards Takeo set out from the keep towards the walls.

Along the way he was surprised by many things, the "life", for lack of a better word, in the NPCs, their emotions, the way that everything seemed real, the facial expressions, the mouth movements and most of all their dedication to him.

Every time they came across someone they would bow to him and give him his best regards and wishes. When they came across a unit that was being sent to the combat Takeo could feel their morale skyrocketing when he told them he would join them. And he also noticed that they seemed a bit downcast when they heard that Hideo would probably join them, but they brightened at the mention of Aimi.

"So they like me and Aimi but not Hideo. Good to know." Takeo thought.

The path to the main gate, the place under attack, was long but Takeo and the soldiers hurried and arrived there quickly.

Heading to the walls, Takeo came across another one of _his_ daimyos, Hōjō Ujiyasu.

"My shogun! I did not expect you to take the field." He exclaimed as he bowed. "This incompetent one begs your pardon for having to come here."

"Rise Ujiyasu-dono, you have done nothing wrong. I merely wish to observe. I have total confidence in your abilities." Takeo reassured him. "Show me your abilities and drive these invaders off!"

"Yes my shogun!" Ujiyasu said filled with conviction.

"You lot. The shogun graces us with his most august presence. Do not fail him." Ujiyasu shouted to the men.

The men roared with energy and determination and the archers opened fire on the undead.

Takeo took a look at the mass of corpses that tried to cross the bridge which joined the castle and the rest of the world. Below it there was a moat filled with water. The undead were indeed low tier, just normal skeletons and zombies and one or two liches.

Takeo pulled out his bow and sniped the strongest undead but even those were no threat to the castle.

Just then the monks arrived and a good percentage of the undead were destroyed by their firepower. With them came Hideo and Aimi who had become a bit more used to this world. Takeo looked at them and they nodded. They felt it too; this had become the real world.

The undead were destroyed and Kenshin received orders from Nobunaga to clear out any possible undead in the surroundings and Shingen was told to take a detachment of 100 cavalrymen and scout further out and search for signs of life.

Takeo returned to the throne room followed by his ever present guard, Aimi, Hideo and the other daimyos, this time with Ujiyasu.

When they sat in the throne room Nobunaga began giving orders to confirm the well-being of the entire castle and its population while the others discussed amongst themselves what had happened.

After a few hours of discussion they received a [Message] from Shingen informing them that he had seen a big walled city and that he was currently further north where a village was under attack and its villagers being slaughtered by knights, he wanted to know what actions to take.

"We must help them!" Aimi shouted. "We can't let innocent people be murdered."

The other daimyos agreed with Aimi with different levels of conviction.

"Very well then, Shingen-dono, I hereby order you to drive the invaders off and to protect the villagers." Takeo ordered.

"Kenshin-dono, prepare an expeditionary force and join our cavalry. Be sure to take enough healers."

"Yes my shogun." Kenshin answered with conviction.

"Aimi-san, do you wish to join them?" Takeo asked. "After all, you are the one who wishes to protect them."

Aimi looked at Takeo and nodded.

"Kenshin, prepare Aimi-san's Great Guard unit and depart with her." Takeo ordered.

Kenshin and Aimi departed and Hideo left for his chambers.

About thirty minutes lather Aimi contacted them again and told them she had driven out the knights and had finished healing the wounded and was wondering if she should resurrect the dead. Kenshin also gave a report on everything he had learnt from the village chief including information on the surrounding nations and had a few prisoners who were sent to the dungeons for questioning.

Takeo decided to give Kenshin overall command of the expeditionary force and asked for the details on the group's constitution.

"My shogun; Takeda-dono took 30 melee cavalry, 30 shock cavalry, 30 bow cavalry and 10 mounted mages. Uesugi-dono took Atsuko-sama's great guard of 10 warriors; 200 warrior monks, 100 of them ranged and the others wielding naginatas and a support force of 300 ashigarus, 200 of them being yari wielders, 50 bowmen and the others using different weapons. Aside from Atsuko-sama's great guard, the strongest unit is the warrior monks at level 50. The rest belong to our levy forces and are replaceable." Nobunaga informed him reading from a paper.

"By levies he must mean spawn NPCs." Takeo thought.

"Very well then, I leave the decisions in their care. Tell them to try and build friendly relationships as much as possible." Takeo ordered.

Takeo decided to call Hideo but the guard that went to summon him said that Hideo did not wish to be disturbed, only to be informed of Aimi's arrival.

Takeo ordered his men to leave Hideo alone. If he did not wish for company he wouldn't get it.

As time passed Takeo and the other daimyos discussed their course of action and future decisions.

A monk requested an audience with the shogun and Takeo allowed him in.

"Shogun-sama, we, the monks, have been investigating the land where we seem to have been transported to and have discovered it is filled with negative energy." He said after prostrating before Takeo.

Takeo was a bit taken aback by his attitude but let it slide. It was all part of the programming.

"What does that mean?" He asked the monk.

"Shogun-sama, it means that more undead will keep rising."

The undead hadn't been very strong but Takeo didn't want to deal with them all the time.

"Can you cleanse this land?" He asked the monk.

"But of course Shogun-sama! It will take some time and a lot of work but we should be able to cleanse this land."

"Very well then. Cleanse the land of this negative energy and turn it into a place where our subjects may work."

The monk bowed once again and Takeo dismissed him.

Hideyoshi proposed to open trade with the surrounding nations and Nobunaga suggested that farms be created in the cleansed land.

By now, Takeo was becoming very tired and told his daimyos that he wished to rest and that they would continue the following morning.

Takeo left the throne room and headed for his chambers, escorted by his horo-shu.

In his chambers, which were pretty darn big, he found his personal retainer, a geisha and a concubine.

After a long talk explaining that he had no need for any of them they finally left and he remembered that they were a bonus of sorts for being shogun, a gift from a friend, he had just forgotten about them. He shuddered for a moment considering the implications of their existence before removing his equipment and putting on something more casual, a sea blue kimono and laying down on his bed promptly falling asleep.

It had been one long day and he was exhausted from the act that he had to put up. Luckily Aimi would be alright and come back soon and tomorrow they could come up with plan for their situation.

With these thoughts Takeo fell asleep, not even noticing the ninjas that Hanzō had assigned to be his bodyguard.

CHAPTER END

* * *

A/N: This is just somethig that was on my mind. If you want I will expand upon it.

You can also give an idea for the next Sengoku Jidai legend to show up. For now it's just Myamoto Musashi. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

_Shogun of Fire - Chapter 2  
_

Written by: LastArcanni

Proofread by: PervySageChuck (hallowed be his name (plays Hammerfall!))

A/N: Took me forever to write this. Sorry for the delay. I'm going to try and put the next chapter of The Bard out before a week is past and them see what I do from there.

* * *

Chapter 2

Takeo was woken up in the middle of the night by his retainer; it seems that Aimi had returned with some of the villagers and some representatives from the lords of the village.

Takeo got up and donned his armour and equipped his swords.

"Inform Hideo-san that Aimi has returned. Tell him to join me in the throne room." Takeo told his retainer.

The retainers were personally designed NPCs. Each guild member had free reign in designing him, he just had to pay the price for his design. However the guild had been terminated when only half a dozen of them were finished so there weren't that many of them around. The geisha was another feature of the guild. Each member had one to provide entertainment or just for the sake of it.

That being said there were around 500 finished Great Guard models and only 20 of them were in use. The Great Guard were supposed to be the guild members' bodyguards, similar to the horo-shu, each member had 10 and their levels summed up were equal to the horo-shu. So while the horo-shu were level 90, the Great Guard was level 63.

"Maybe I could assign some more of them to Aimi and Hideo and the rest of them to the daimyos." Takeo thought has he headed towards the throne room. "Seriously though, we invested a ludicrous amount of money into this."

Takeo didn't do anything in real life aside from his job so he spent all of his money on the guild but even he wasn't the biggest spender. Some members had put literal fortunes into the guild to develop the castle, or the town, or the NPCs. Hell, even the garden had been a massive investment.

As Takeo neared the throne room he came across Hideo.

"Where's Aimi?" Hideo asked immediately without even saying hello.

"She should be arriving soon. We will wait for her in the throne room and decide what to do from there." Hideo told him disregarding the momentary hostility that his horo-shu demonstrated.

"Besides, I could use your input on our current situation." Said Takeo lowering his voice so only Hideo would hear him. "What do you make of this? The NPCs coming to life and all?"

"I'm not sure. But we shouldn't be going off into the unknown like you sent Aimi." Hideo answered him.

"It was her choice. I only provided it." Said Takeo dodging the blame.

Hideo sniggered.

"Keep telling yourself that, brother." He said smiling.

Takeo smiled to Hideo.

"Let's go."

Takeo entered the throne room and headed for his place, Hideo seated himself next to Takeo.

"By the way, how do they react to you?" Hideo asked nodding to the NPCs.

"With respect and reverence, like I'm a real shogun. How do they treat you?"

"With the exception of my Great Guard, my retainer and my geisha, they seem to dislike me but they obey my orders."

"Weird. We'll have to figure it out."

As Takeo and Hideo talked about their strange situation, Oda Nobunaga entered the room and knelt before Takeo.

"Shogun-sama, Atsuko-sama has returned and she brings envoys from another nation." He reported.

"What can you tell us of Aimi-san's actions?" Takeo asked Nobunaga.

"Shogun-sama, Takeda-dono gave me a report concerning his and Uesugi-dono's activities when they were beside Atsuko-sama. May I give their report?"

"Yes." Takeo said simply.

"Takeda-dono reported that after informing us of the village under attack that he split his forces into two and sent one force into the village and another to scout the surroundings. The enemy consisted of about 80 knights who were killing the villagers without mercy. Takeda-dono killed about half of them and captured the rest. As that happened, Atsuko-sama arrived and healed the entire village. After some talk between Uesugi-dono, Takeda-dono and Atsuko-sama it was decided they would not resurrect the villagers as it seemed that resurrection is considered to be a very high level spell. Atsuko-sama rescued two young girls and decided to look after them as their parents were killed in the attack. As we prepared to leave, more knights arrived but these claimed to serve the king of the country and to have been sent to save the villages. The leader has the rank of Warrior-Captain and calls himself Gazef Stronoff, his family name being Stronoff."

"So they have western style names?" Takeo asked.

"Seems like it." Hideo answered.

Nobunaga continued.

"He seems to be hailed as the strongest warrior in the surrounding countries. Takeda-dono informed me that he is around level 29/30. Atsuko-sama wanted to establish a relation to this country's rulers but the village was attacked by a group of magic casters. Atsuko-sama lent her help to Stronoff-dono and so our forces helped defeat the magic casters. During the fight the leaders of the mages tried to summon what he claimed was the strongest angel. Uesugi-dono reports that this was a Principality of Observation and that it was destroyed by Takeda-dono. The crystal that the angel was stored in was recovered and taken by Uesugi-dono. The other mages were captured and, after some negotiations, we kept half of them. After all this, Atsuko-sama invited Stronoff-dono and the villagers to Tetsu no Shiro to open negotiations. This concludes my report." Nobunaga finished after a rather long speech.

Takeo and Hideo discussed what they had learnt from Nobunaga. It seemed the average level of this world was quite small and that mages used lower tiered spells.

Takeo was very happy to hear that because it meant he had less to worry about.

"Nobunaga-dono, call your sister, her husband, Date Masamune, Takenaka Hanbei, Miyamoto Musashi and your sister's daughters." Takeo instructed.

Nobunaga very quickly had messengers summon the individuals his master had called. If the Shogun called then his subjects would obey.

Soon Oda Oichi, Azai Nagamasa, Date Masamune Takenaka Hanbei, Miyamoto Musashi and Oda Oichi's daughters stood before Takeo; they were kneeling on the ground.

Takeo looked at Oichi, the original one was supposed to have been one of the most beautiful women in Japan and Takeo was quite confident that this one did not disappoint. She had been created with the idea of the typical Sengoku wife but she was also a level 100 magic caster and one of the strongest in Tetsu no Shiro.

Date Masamune was wearing his signature black armor and golden headgear. He was a berserker and a great line breaker. Another one of the level 100 daimyos.

Azai Nagamasa was a combination of warrior, general and politician. More of a roleplaying character but still good for defense as he boosted the spawns' levels.

Takenaka Hanbei had the appearance of a frail but beautiful young man and he boasted the highest intelligence in Shogun's Realm.

Oichi's daughters; Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo were basically younger versions of their mother. Each of them was a specialized mage.

Yodo was an arcane magic caster on par with her mother.

Ohatsu was a fully levelled necromancer.

Oeyo was a summoner with a few psychic spells.

The three sisters were in charge of defending a small area in the castle designed as an ambush. Invaders would assume that they were no threat and more of a role-playing feature and once they defeated the samurais in charge of protecting the sisters, the sisters would hit them with everything they had.

It was very good trap as it caught the invaders off guard and having to fight undead, angels and fire monsters was a particularly difficult combination as they mostly canceled each other's weaknesses.

Miyamoto Musashi was a pure warrior, the strongest entity in Shogun's Realm. He was a rough looking man with an unshaved face and a threatening look in his eyes.

"Thank you for answering my summon." Takeo said bowing his head slightly.

Oichi looked at Takeo with admiration and loyalty before answering.

"It is only natural that the vassals will answer when the shogun calls, I thank you for your gratitude but it is misplaced."

Takeo looked at the others and they all agreed with Oichi.

"Very well then, I have gathered you here to discuss the future of Shogun's Realm. Nobunaga-dono; inform them of the situation."

Nobunaga told them of the battle for Carne village and of Aimi's actions. Masamune expressed his joy at the news of his fellow warriors being led to battle by one of the Supreme Beings. Oichi and her daughters were entranced by Aimi's decisions and will, Musashi didn't show any reaction and Hanbei was a bit apprehensive about the attackers.

When Nobunaga finished recounting the tale, Takeo spoke.

"Soon the Warrior-Captain will come through those doors and meet us. You shall be present in this meeting and be on your best behavior. Do not shame me."

"We understand, Shogun-sama." Nagamasa said.

A Great Guard entered the throne chamber and knelt before Takeo.

"Shogun-sama, Atsuko-sama requests permission to enter." He said.

"Allow her in." Takeo said as all the NPCs took their places and a few extras appeared and quickly took their places.

Aimi entered the room flanked by her guard. Behind her there were a few men and two young girls. Aimi stood before the throne and the others knelt before Takeo. They were obviously frightened of his demonic looks.

"Welcome back, Aimi-san." Takeo declared. "How went the battle?"

"I am sure you have already been notified." Aimi answered.

"It is true. Would you like to introduce the ones that you have invited into our home?"

"Certainly, this is Gazef Stronoff, Warrior-Captain of the Kingdom of Re-Estize." Aimi said. He was a muscular man of around thirty years of age and he appeared to have a sunbathed dark face with noticeable wrinkles, short black trimmed hair and black eyes that were as sharp as a sword. He was without a doubt a veteran warrior.

"I welcome you, Stronoff-dono, to Shogun's Realm. Allow me, in my position as regent to extend my greetings to your men." Takeo said trying to sound formal. He noticed Hideo giving him a quick nod.

Gazef bowed deeply to Takeo trying to disguise his uneasiness. "Probably due to my size and the fact that I'm technically a demon." thought Takeo.

"I have much to thank you for O Great lord." Gazef began.

"It is only natural to help those in need and the one you should thank is Aimi-san and the daimyos Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin." Takeo interrupted.

Shingen and Kenshin tried to tell Gazef that it was only their great master being humble but Gazef thanked them anyway, he probably thought it was better not to annoy Takeo.

"Now, with the pleasantries out of the way I would like to establish some treaties with your nation. Do you have the authority to rectify those treaties?" Takeo asked.

"Unfortunately no, O lord. You would have to talk to the king personally." Gazef said.

"Very well. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu will write a possible treaty of friendship and trade and then Ieyasu shall be our emissary to your king." Hideo hopped in.

The tension in the room skyrocketed but Takeo laughed a bit to dispel the tension.

"Where are my manners? This is my brother and Aimi-san's boyfriend, Katsuo Hideo." Takeo introduced. "And I believe he just had a most fabulous idea."

The room was silent for a moment before everyone started reacting and after some introductions the 3 daimyos started talking with Gazef and his Vice-captain regarding the treaty.

Takeo looked around the room until his eyes rested on the two young girls, Enri and Nemu right? Nobunaga had mentioned their names. Takeo gestured them to approach and they stepped forward with a bit of fear. Takeo gave them a kind smile.

"Do not worry because I do not eat little girls." He told them. "I merely wish to talk to you. Tell me of your life."

After Enri thought a bit she told Takeo of her and her sister's daily life with their parents in the frontier village. Many times tears came to their eyes as they thought of their deceased parents but this great lord was kind and patient and listened with great interest to what they had to say.

"What will you do now?" Takeo asked as Enri finished her stories.

"We will return to the village and try to survive." Enri said with determination.

Truth be told, Takeo was taking a liking to the young girls. Not in that way, you pervert! And he had to admire their courage and determination. So Takeo came to a decision which could damn him.

"Would you like to stay here? I will provide for all your needs and desires and you shall receive an education." he offered the girls.

Enri was surprised and a bit skeptical. There is no such thing as a free thing.

"Why would you offer us that?" she asked.

"Because you are two young girls who only have each other in this world and I am growing fond of you." Takeo answered honestly. "So I would like to help you."

"How?" asked Enri curious. Even though she was a bit afraid of Takeo's appearance, he had been a gentle, kind and humble man so far so Enri felt like she could thrust him.

Nemu approached Takeo and he told the horo-shu to let her pass. Nemu raised herself on Takeo's lap and looked intensely at his face before smiling and sitting in his lap. Takeo started brushing her hair with his giant armored hand.

After seeing this Enri gave up and seated herself beside Takeo and Takeo used his other hand to brush her hair.

"It's big and warm." Thought Enri, she was exhausted after spending more than 24 hours awake and under extreme stress and was beginning to doze off.

Takeo realized it and called out to the room.

"May I have your attention please?" He called.

The entire room turned to him and was quite shocked with the developments which had occurred.

"I have decided to adopt Enri and Nemu Emmot and take them under my wing." Takeo said.

The room was silent for the longest five seconds of all time before Hideo burst out laughing.

"That is so like you, brother." He said trying to control his laughter.

Takeo smiled and waited for anyone else to say something more.

"I understand that the Kingdom may not like us taking in their citizens but I am willing to talk to the king or whatever lord owned the land for the rights and life of the girls." Takeo said to Gazef.

Gazef didn't say anything such was his shock at Takeo's decision and at the fact that no one defied him and some even seemed to approve. Gazef felt like he was in the lair of a dragon, and if the dragon was being friendly it would be better not to enrage him.

"The lands surrounding the castle seem to be infected with some negative energy. My monks are currently cleansing it so that it may be farmed." Takeo went on detonating yet more bombs to the New Worlders. "We will require farmers and people willing to work so I offer this chance to the citizens of Carne village. I promise that you will not be attacked by monsters, bandits or raiders and that your basic needs shall be looked after."

Gazef nearly collapsed and the village chief fainted after hearing Takeo.

"Feel free to give me an answer when you have it. Now, I will take these two girls to their new rooms." Takeo said as he got up with a girl in each arm.

The daimyos and other servants prostrated before the shogun and the horo-shu cleared the way.

"I hope we will have more time to talk again, Warrior-Captain." Takeo said as he passed by Gazef. "It truly was an honor."

Gazef managed to mumble a confused thank you before Takeo left.

Takeo headed towards his room but entered the one opposite to it. Two manservants and two maids came running in and quickly prepared two beds.

Takeo very gently placed them on the beds before removing his mempo (facial armour) and kissing them in the forehead.

"Good night," he wished them. "Sleep well."

Takeo left the room after making sure his 'daughters' were asleep.

"I need to check on the empress." He thought.

"I am going to visit the Empress. You are dismissed. Look after the girls." Takeo said heading off.

The Empress' room was at the top of the keep. Takeo opened the door and entered.

"My Empress, your shogun presents himself before you." He said bowing.

A small ball flew towards Takeo and he grabbed it. Then a small shape threw herself at Takeo.

"Got you!" The young Empress, Chie Akiko, shouted as she lunged herself at Takeo.

Takeo grabbed the young ruler and lifted her up high.

"Put me down!" She shouted.

Takeo gently placed her on the giant bed.

The room was quite big and it looked more like a toy room, painted in light colors with lots of toys, wardrobes and everything else that a woman could wish for.

Takeo looked at the legal ruler of Tetsu no Shiro. A 10 year old girl, she had long dark hair and a pale skin, beautiful almond eyes and a very animated and young voice. According to what Takeo remembered of her setting she was a level 30 entity with both the miko and the princess classes. Takeo had a vague memory about something in her setting concerning him but he wasn't sure what.

"How are you, my Empress?" Takeo asked.

Akiko puffed her cheeks.

"Call me Akiko." She demanded.

"How are you Akiko-sama?" Takeo rectified.

Akiko puffed her cheeks once more but gave up.

"I am bored! You don't visit me." She said annoyed.

"I apologize but we are currently on full alert and even with my brother and Aimi-san here we are very busy." Takeo explained.

Akiko suddenly shuddered and looked at Takeo with fear in her eyes.

"Katsuo-san is here?" She asked.

"Indeed he is." Takeo answered not understanding her fear. Why did no NPC in the castle like Hideo?

"Don't let him near me." Akiko begged.

Looking at Akiko begging and pressing herself against Takeo he gave in and embraced her.

"No one will harm you for as long as I exist. I promise." He assured her as he stroked her hair.

Akiko clung to Takeo and refused to let go, so Takeo spent the few hours left in the night talking to her and telling her of what had happened.

Akiko wanted to meet Nemu and Enri, but mostly Nemu.

Finally Akiko fell asleep due to Takeo's bodily warmth, which was a bit high compared to a human's normal temperature, and Takeo laid her on the bed before leaving.

He still had much to do, like confirming the status of the elite units and the conditions of the nonhuman NPCs like the goblin samurais or the centaur skirmish cavalry. His job was never over.

From the shadows, Hattori Hanzō kept looking after his master, ready to protect him at any moment.

Chapter End.

* * *

A/N: You know I was going to end the chapter with Takeo declaring that he would adopt Enri and Nemu after talking to them but without him checking with the girls. It was going to be the Enri reaction we love but it would be evl to end in a cliffhanger of sorts and I wanted to introduce the Empress. XD

As always thanks to pervysagechuck(-senseisempaisama).

Have fun.

LastArcanni.


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